Radiant heat

To the real estate editor: While we agree with the statement that "radiant-heat costs depend on the area ," we take issue with the last paragraph, in which you claim that the use of a heat pump "reduces the use of electricity by 30 to 50 percent over that for radiant electric heating."

We manufacture radiant electric ceiling units. Heating by this method costs 24 cents per square foot per year, including hot water for bathing, washing, laundry, etc. Can a heat pump make that claim?

Most of the claims that are made for heat-pump efficiency are based on temperatures above 40 degrees F. When one gets below that temperature, a heat pump loses its claimed efficiency. There is another angle to a heat pump vs. radiant heat, and this is that a heat pump can be noisy, is subject to duct vibration, requires maintenance, and is subject to mechanical failure. Radiant heat is quiet, has no moving parts to wear out, is clean, and directly warms the object to be heated rather than first warming the air, which then must be circulated.

Thank you for bearing with us, but we feel that radiant heat has a great deal going for it vis-a-vis a heat pump, and perhaps John Hubbard might still like to consider radiant heat for his town house. Edward W. Stifel Jr. Bellaire, Ohio